Posts From Author: Month: August 2020
Writers and Storytelling: Jeff VanderMeer
Jeff VanderMeer’s New York Times-bestselling Southern Reach trilogy has been translated into over 35 languages. The first novel, Annihilation, won the Nebula Award and Shirley Jackson Award, and was made into a movie by Paramount. Other work includes Dead Astronauts, Borne (a finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award), The Strange Bird. These novels, set in the Borne universe, are being developed for TV by AMC and continue to explore themes related to the environment, animals, and our future. His most recent novel is A Peculiar Peril (out last month) and his forthcoming novel Hummingbird Salamander has been optioned by Netflix and Michael Sugar (Anonymous Content). His short story “Secret Life” has been made into a graphic novel by Theo Ellsworth. What are you reading right now for solace or escape? I like Eduardo C. Corral’s poetry a lot, so I’m reading his collection Guillotine at the moment. If you could live inside a fictional world, which one would you choose? I’m afraid I love this world too much to answer the question. But I’m thinking of one particular fantasy world right now that I’d live inside so I could join whatever revolution is trying to fix it. Are there […]
Read MoreWriters and Storytelling: Charles Yu
Charles Yu is the author of three books, including the novel How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe (a New York Times Notable Book and a Time magazine best book of the year), and, most recently, Interior Chinatown. He received the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 Award and was nominated for two Writers Guild of America Awards for his work on the HBO series, Westworld. He has also written for shows on FX, AMC, and HBO. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired, among other publications. What are you reading right now for solace or escape? Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell. It’s so good. If you could live inside a fictional world, which one would you choose? Steven Universe’s universe! It’s full of love and wisdom. Are there any quotes you use to inspire you now or anytime? “Dude, suckin’ at something is the first step towards being sorta good at something.” — Jake the Dog
Read MoreWriters and Storytelling: Kevin Mattson
Kevin Mattson grew up in the suburban sprawl known as the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. It was here that he first experienced the “punk rock world” that fueled his formative years. He played in bands, wrote for zines, and became politically active, helping to cofound the organization Positive Force. He now teaches American history at Ohio University and is the author of numerous books that explore the intersection between culture and politics, including Upton Sinclair and the Other American Century, What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?, and We’re Not Here to Entertain: Punk Rock, Ronald Reagan, and the Real Culture War of 1980s America. What books would you recommend and why? Michael Stewart Foley’s Dead Kennedys’ Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables and Michael Fournier’s The Minutemen’s Double Nickels on the Dime. Both books are part of the 33 1/3 series. The first is an excellent read of the first DKs album, which was released at the beginning point of my story (1980); the second a thorough look at the Minutemen’s album that comes out towards the end of my story (1984). Both books show how much depth — including in the realm of ideas — there was to the […]
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